Chapter 15 is posted! Hurrah!!! I hope you enjoy! Read on!!!

Sweet Revenge

By Tatiana

Chapter 15: Shall We Dance?

Adhemar dined at the head table with the lord of the manor, the lord's family, and close associates. The wealthy Lord Wesmark, in the celebration of his daughter's betrothal, had spared no expense. The food and drink flowed freely. The meal was rich and elaborate. Music and laughter resounded throughout the vast great hall.

Adhemar forced himself to eat the food that was spread before him, but he did not taste it. All around him people were engaged in conversations; he did not partake. He was far to busy concentrating on his own affairs to pay attention to the silly goings-on around him.

In his mind, Adhemar was attempting to decipher the strange feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. His chest felt constricted, as though his breast was being crushed. Adhemar was wondering silently to himself. Could it be? No. He shook his head vehemently. It couldn't be. He had never felt this way before. He had never though it possible.

Adhemar let out a long breath in an attempt to calm himself, to clear his head, but it didn't help. He sighed again, this time with defeat. It was. He was experiencing that dreaded feeling. He couldn't shake it. He was nervous.

Reaching for his goblet, he raised it to his lips and took a long swallow if the cool, red wine. He stared blankly out in front of him, shaking his head from side to side in self-disgust. Inside he was cursing himself for allowing himself to feel that way. Why now? He couldn't recall a single jousting match or even a wartime battle when he had been the slightest bit apprehensive. As much as he hated to, he had to admit his anxiousness at the prospect of dancing in front of all of these people.

He was nervous. It was a feeling that he had never known before. He hated it.

" It is time for dancing!" Lord Wesmark shouted merrily after an hour of feasting.

A cheer went up. Several gentlemen rose to search for a partner. Adhemar remained seated. His blood had gone cold at Lord Wesmark's declaration. He feet were like lead.

" Count Adhemar of Anjou." Lord Wesmark called. " I shall grant you the honor of dancing with my daughter in the absence of her affianced, on this celebration of her betrothal."

Adhemar's mouth went dry. He could not speak. With some effort he composed his features. His face did not reveal the havoc his nerves were wrecking upon his mind and body. He merely inclined his head to Lord Wesmark. As he slowly rose from his seat, his gaze turned sideways, peering far across the extensive hall, seeking something on the other side of the vast chamber. There, on a balcony overlooking the great hall, stood his herald and the blacksmith. They were leaning on the stone railing, observing Adhemar and the rich scene below them.

Adhemar walked at a leisurely pace over to where the lord of the manor and his family were seated. He stopped in front of Lord Wesmark's daughter and with a gallant bow, offered the young lady his arm. She smiled, her cheeks flushing pink shyly, and rose, placing her hand lightly atop his forearm. Adhemar began to lead her from the dining tables. His eyes went to the balcony once more.

Across the room Adhemar could see Kate nod encouragingly. His face was a mask of composure as he led the young Lady Wesmark to the dance floor. His eyes darted continuously from his partner, to the other couples, and then back up to Kate. The other dancers took their places. Adhemar's heartbeat quickened.

His anxious eyes sought the balcony again. He saw Kate smile gently and, as the music began, her lips started to move as she counted aloud. Adhemar could not hear her words with his ears but he could hear her voice in the back of his mind. One and two, three and four, five, six, seven…

Mentally he counted with the melodic voice in his head. The dance began. He took his partner's hand and bowed over it. She curtsied.

* * * * *

Kate watched as Adhemar danced with the daughter of Lord Wesmark below in the great hall. He danced with such ease and confidence that if she hadn't taught him herself just that afternoon, she would have thought he'd been dancing all his life.

" You taught him well," Germaine commented from his place beside her as the dance continued.

" I tried," Kate replied modestly.

Her eyes remained focused on Adhemar and his partner as they moved across the floor. Her brow wrinkled with thought. She caught her lower lip between her teeth. After a short time, she turned to the man beside her.

" Germaine? Why is it Adhemar was never taught to dance before? Surely someone knew he could learn to dance despite his deafness to tone." she voiced her thoughts.

" His father ridiculed him for it," Germaine replied matter of factly. He glanced over to her sadly. " To Adhemar's father, being tone deaf was a weakness. It was just one of the many things that Philippe de Vitry held against his son."

" What?" Kate questioned in bewilderment. " Why would a father hold anything against his son?"

Germaine let out a long sigh. " That is part of what is not my place to say." His shoulders moved in a helpless shrug of apology.

" Why not?" Kate demanded in a hushed tone.

" Everything I know comes from my observations and other servants' accounts. Adhemar has never directly spoken to me about what happened." the herald defended.

" What happened Germaine?" Kate asked in a low, almost desperate tone.

" I cannot say," Germaine maintained regretfully.

" No one knows Adhemar's story but you and he. Stories are meant to be told. He would never tell anyone. That leaves you. How can things be understood if an explanation for them is never given? I want to know what has caused Adhemar to be the cruel man everyone thinks him to be." Kate held the herald's gaze with her own. " Germaine," she said softly. " I need to know."

A few moments of silence followed Kate's appeal. Germaine's brow furrowed. He broke their eye contact, turning his head to gaze out over the great hall. Kate watched the herald as he deliberated over whether or not to tell her what she wanted to know. He turned his head to look at her again.

" Very well," he relented with a sigh. He glanced over both his shoulders to assure that no one was around. " I shall make it my place to tell you."

Clearing his throat, Germaine pondered for a few moments. " Where to begin?" he mused aloud.

" In my experience," Kate said in forced solemnity. " It is always best to begin at the beginning." The teasing in her tone was audible.

Germaine, catching her jesting manner, rewarded her with a rueful smile.

" Adhemar was not born an only child." Germaine stated in commencement. "He was the younger of two sons. His older brother, Stephan, was three years his senior. Adhemar's birth not only brought another son to Philippe de Vitry, but took his wife as well. Following her labor, the midwives were unable to stop the bleeding. She bled to death shortly after Adhemar was brought into the world. Her death was yet another thing that Philippe de Vitry held against his youngest son."

" But it wasn't Adhemar's fault," Kate interjected ardently. Her forehead was creased with vexation. " His mother died of natural cause. Many women die in childbirth."

Germaine nodded slowly in agreement. Kate exhaled a firm breath and looked to him to proceed with his narrative.

The herald cleared his throat and continued. " As I said before, Adhemar had an elder brother. Stephan was their father's favorite for one very obvious reason. He was the firstborn. Nothing Stephan did was ever wrong in his father's eyes. Unfortunately for Adhemar, their father's unconditional approval did not apply past the firstborn."

" Stephan was what you could call the perfect son. He had a natural talent of being good at whatever he did. Whether it was academics, hunting, sparring, or wooing women, Stephan was the master of it all. Philippe de Vitry was immensely proud of his eldest son's abilities. Needless to say his skills caused comparison between him and Adhemar. And no matter what, it always seemed that Adhemar was on the losing end. Adhemar did not possess a knack for everything as his brother had. He was not naturally talented. He worked hard to obtain every one of his skills."

" Their father's obvious favoritism caused a rift between the two brothers. The rift grew as they grew. Stephan had entered his teens and Adhemar was trailing by three years when they began to compete with one another. The sibling rivalry was fierce. No love was lost between them. Whether it was sparring, wrestling, horseback riding, it didn't matter. They competed in everything. The competitions were often violent, even bloody. The blood was usually Adhemar's. He, being three years younger, was an easy defeat for Stephan. But as they matured and Adhemar grew, it became increasingly difficult for Stephan to beat him. So Stephan, extremely frustrated and angry, began to cheat in order to win."

" When Adhemar went to his father to expose Stephan's dishonest and dishonorable methods, Philippe de Vitry merely shrugged and said, ' He won didn't he? That is all that matters.' As I said before, nothing Stephan did was wrong in his father's eyes. So Stephan kept on cheating and Adhemar kept on losing. Neither his father, nor his elder brother allowed him to forget that he was the loser."

" Winning is all that matters," Kate echoed softly. Repeating Philippe de Vitry caused her to shudder.

Germaine nodded gloomily. " It continued this way all through Adhemar's adolescence. When he came of age, he was faced with a choice. As a younger son, he would inherit nothing. Adhemar had the choice of either entering a monastery or joining the military, just as all second sons have. He enlisted in the King's service, determined to make his father proud."

" Certainly that pleased his father," Kate asserted. " What more could Philippe de Vitry want than to have his son enter the army? Surely that was honorable enough for him." She looked to Germaine in question.

" An honorable choice it was indeed," Germaine agreed resolutely with her. " Adhemar proved to be a good soldier. He quickly moved up in rank several times over the next few years. By the time he and I met, he was a general and that was only four years after he had entered the service. It was enough to make any father proud. Any father, that is, except Philippe de Vitry. Adhemar worked hard to please him, to earn his approval by excelling as a general and a knight, but his father remained distant no matter what he did. Despite all of Adhemar's achievements, his father opened neither his heart nor his arms to his second son."

" Shortly after I came to be his herald, Adhemar received a missive from the steward of his father's estate. His older brother was dead. Adhemar was now his father's heir, the future Count of Anjou. He was deeply saddened by his brother's death. Stephan had been his rival for their father's love, but that didn't mean that Adhemar had no feelings for him. He hurried home to see his father. I accompanied him there."

" We arrived at his home to find it in somewhat of a disarray. Philippe de Vitry, after his eldest son's death and burial, had fallen ill. Adhemar first set the manor in order. Then he stayed by his father's bedside day and night. I stayed by Adhemar's side as much as I could. I overheard some of the exchanges that took place between Adhemar and his father."

" Even on his sick bed, Philippe de Vitry could not accept his only remaining son. He verbally ridiculed Adhemar for his faults, such as his tone deafness, the fact that he was untalented as a child. But most of all he scoffed at Adhemar's weaknesses, mainly his feelings of friendship for me, and yes, even Adhemar's love for him. He blamed his wife's death on his youngest son, accusing him of murdering her. He even went as far to say that he wished Adhemar had never been born and that he wished it had been Adhemar that had died and not Stephan."

" Adhemar received all of his father's curses and contempt with unwavering patience. He nursed him with silent tolerance and unspoken tenderness. But all of Adhemar's efforts were in vain. It soon became obvious that Philippe de Vitry was on his deathbed. Adhemar kept a vigil at his father's side, hoping and praying that he would live. His father knew that he would soon be dying, and instead of repenting for the injustices he had committed against his youngest son over the years, he added to them. His last allegation to Adhemar was by far the most harsh and damaging he had even spoken."

" Philippe de Vitry uttered, in his final words, a curse that has plagued his son ever since. He told Adhemar that he was the sorriest excuse for a son there ever was and that he would never be a great man or general. He proclaimed Adhemar to be weak. He said that he would rather die than admit to having fathered him. The final sentiment Philippe de Vitry left with his son was that he could never have been proud of him because Adhemar was not worthy. Shortly after having spoken his piece, Adhemar's father died in his sleep."

Germaine fell silent. He turned his head to find Kate in deep thought. Her expression was one of abashed disbelief. It was as though she could not imagine a father so cruel.

" Some said that Philippe de Vitry died because the grief of his eldest son's death was too much for him. Others said that it was because both his eldest son's and his wife's deaths occurred in his lifetime and the pain of their passing was too great for him. Even fewer thought that perhaps he died because Adhemar could never live up to what his late brother was to their father."

" Oh Germaine," Kate spoke in an appalled whisper. " That is awful."

" The damage was done." the herald continued. " Adhemar took his father's bitter words to heart. He has never been the same since then. He has never been back to his manor. He has never mentioned the incident. Not a word. But I noticed the change in him almost immediately. He became a completely different person, a man he thought his father would have wanted him to be, a man he thought his father would have been proud of, and a man his father could have loved. A cruel and hard-hearted person who would do anything to win and anything to succeed."

" So there you have it," Germaine sighed sadly. " Adhemar was not always the man you have come to know and despise. He was fashioned this way, by the harsh words of a grieving father whose expectations no one could live up to."

" That's horrible," Kate gasped in disbelief.

" But unfortunately true," the herald shook his head.

" Poor Adhemar," Kate murmured softly under her breath.

She blinked in surprise. Poor Adhemar? Where had that come from? She never thought that she would actually feel sorry for him. At this very moment, her heart was flooded with sympathy. All this time she had thought that Count Adhemar was the way he was just because he was a rotten and evil person by nature. But that, much to her surprise, was not the case.

All of his life, Adhemar had been taught by his father, that he was not good enough. He had been constantly compared with his older brother and had never come out on top. His father basically taught him that he should do whatever was necessary to win. Even if he had to cheat. He had cheated at the World Championship when he thought he could not beat William. For some reason Adhemar was still trying to be the man his father would have wanted him to be. His older brother.

Kate shook her head. She never thought she'd feel this way. Poor Adhemar.

" I have some hope though," Germaine interrupted her thoughts, his tone contained a hint of optimism. " Hope that one day Adhemar will become his old self again."

" Why do you say that?" Kate asked. His comment piqued her curiosity.

" I have seen glimpses of the old Adhemar lately," the herald admitted.

" Like when?" she demanded skeptically.

" Like when he jumped in the river after you," Germaine replied, watching her face closely. " And this afternoon when he asked you for your help. It's the first time I've seen real emotion out of him other than anger and indifference since…well…since the day we left his father's manor." The corners of Germaine's lips turned slightly upwards. " It is an encouraging sign."

Kate's eyes studied his face. She thought to herself for a moment, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. The herald smiled at her.

" It is you who has brought on this emotion." he accredited the event her. " I have a feeling that it is you and only you, who can keep it here, even if for only a short while." Germaine finished softly.

She gazed at him questioning wonder. What was he saying?

The music below them in the great hall concluded. Loud applause echoed off of the tall stone walls. Kate averted her eyes from the man beside her to the man below. She watched as Adhemar, looking extremely pleased with himself, bowed over the hand of Lord Wesmark's daughter. Blushing merrily, the pretty girl curtsied deeply and went in search of a new partner. The musicians signaled the start of another set. Adhemar, to Kate's surprise, turned to a lady to his left and offered himself as a dance partner. The lady graciously accepted.

Germaine pushed himself off the railing. Kate glanced at him in surprise. With a friendly grin he held out his hand to her. Kate mouth slowly turned into a questioning smile.

" Shall we dance?" Germaine asked, bowing low. His tone was kind and amiable.

Kate let out a laugh of pleasant astonishment. She regarded him with a look amazement. His face broke out into a grin as he stood there with his hand extended towards her. This was an offer that she could not refuse. Her eyes twinkled merrily as she reached out and took Germaine's hand. Germaine straightened as she curtsied.

* * * * *

As Germaine and Kate danced together on the balcony above, Adhemar and partner danced on the floor below. His steps were fluid and confident. He felt as though he'd been dancing all his life. Adhemar's chest filed with pride with each step. It had been a long time since he'd felt this good. A simple dance lesson had given him a boost in confidence. And his teacher…well…he wasn't exactly sure what to think of her.

His eyes moved up to the balcony. What he saw almost caused him to miss a step. He caught himself, preventing a stumble. His eyes narrowed on the dancing couple on the balcony. He could just barely make out the sound of their laughter but he didn't need his ears to be able to tell that they were laughing. Kate's face was lit up with enthusiasm as she and her herald danced together.

The muscle along his jawbone became taunt, his jaw clenched tightly. The dance ended. The music stopped. Adhemar's eyes never strayed from the scene on the balcony. His stare was fierce and disapproving. With a curt bow to his partner, Adhemar moved quickly with determined strides off the dance floor and out into the night.

* * * * *

That is Chapter 15. I hope you are somewhat intrigued. I love that word! Intrigued. It sounds so… sorry! I've strayed from the subject of this little memo. Where was I? Ah, yes, I remember.

I was pondering on the idea of creating some sort of an update mailing list. It was suggested in a review I got. I'm willing to give it a try if you are. If you would like to receive an email from me when I've posted a new chapter please email me at, tatiana_scribe@yahoo.com . I will add you to a list and send out an update notification when I have a new chapter posted. Is that how it is normally done? I'm new at the whole update list thing.

Sorry I've gabbed on and on for so long! Have a lovely day or evening, whichever it is right now where you are. ^_^